Tonse government that never was
May 11 2022
Politicians are busy repositioning themselves on how, again, to fool Malawians and get their vote in 2025. Like it or not, they will be coming again, like hungry wolves, with loads of promises and lies to win the vote. They will reach the unreachable areas for a vote, they will sell the lie that they will bring the health services nearer, never mind the road it will be passable in no time at all.
On the street, some are already saying they will never vote again.
They said the same at each of the past mistakes, given the frustration they faced once others occupied plot Number One. The cleverer ones on the street are saying they will not even fall to the lure of registering; once you register, they argue, they will come, again, with the old lure: Those who don’t vote elect bad leaders!
The politicians have been busy, repositioning and realigning themselves to get to power at all cost.
Look at this: The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Southern Region vice-president Kondwani Nankhumwa and others hold a rally in Mgona just a day after his Central Region counterpart Zeriah Chakale and others addressed a rally at the same venue! And, while you are about to regurgitate the awful offals, there comes DPP leader Peter Mutharika chiding Nankhumwa for addressing the rally which had no DPP blessing. What they will never tell you is why not go into a bedroom, I don’t think these political parties have boardrooms, and sort out their petty squabbles.
The politicians are busy. Even the DPP Eastern Region veep Bright Msaka has also come out with his own team to Balaka for a rally. Even Goodall Gondwe, the veep for the North came out of his cocoon this week, saying only the International Monetary Fund can offer solutions to current Malawi’s economic woes. Gondwe’s comments echoed what Finance Minister Sosten Gwengwe himself said. Politicians are busy.
Even in the United Democratic Front, Lilian Patel has also been out and about in Mangochi. Repositioning is a must.
For the rest of the Malawians on the street, it is too early for us to be jostling about political moves. They have other things to think of, like who will sort out the mess we are in economically and socially?
It is apparent the major stakeholders in the Tonse Alliance, the UTM Party and the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) are in a loud silent cold war. When he left the country for the United States of America, Veep Saulos Chilima hinted that the contents of their agreement would be let out.
In one rally during the campaign, Chilima did indicate that the agreement was that President Lazarus Chakwera would be the torch bearer in the fresh presidential elections, while he would run in the 2025 polls.
In an apparent retaliation, MCP secretary general Eisenhower Mkaka said at a rally in the North the MCP will have none other than Chakwera at the 2025 polls. At a Tambala night, MCP vice-secretary general Catherine Gotani-Hara, who is also Speaker of the National Assembly, made similar sentiments.
The two MCP gurus seem to be positioning themselves closer to Chakwera and farther from their UTM Party allies as we head towards 2025. They see better reasons why Chakwera is the best thing to happen to the party in recent times. They are the party in government, like it or not. There has never been anything like the Tonse Alliance running the government. So, for all the ills Malawians are facing today, it is the MCP that bears the bigger brunt.
The alliance was formed to win an election and their goals were quite myopic. The two major parties had real parallel ideologies that had it not been for the men of the collar and Malawians on the street, they could never have been united.
The problem is, Malawians are really not certain whether the Tonse Alliance campaign manifesto was the UTM Party bluebook or it belonged to the MCP. For that matter, if anything is being implemented today, where is it coming from?
While claiming Chakwera as the next MCP torch-bearer, again, the MCP gurus better gauge the public reaction to his rule. It seems everything is going up, ironically. Are they making their calculations right in attaining the 50+1 percent majority win?
As politicians keep repositioning their souls, Malawians on the street are still wondering how on earth can we come up with a mausoleum for Orton Chirwa, the MCP founder, for K1.04 billion when there is a looming hunger, rising corruption (ask the EU leader of delegation!) and drugs are in real short supply and, oh God!
